Using word processors and the traditional handwriting method, a study investigated the relationship of learning styles to performance in twelfth graders' written compositions. Subjects (n=55) were enrolled in a public school in east central Mississippi. The study hypothesized that students using word processors and those using the traditional…

To clarify how writing across the curriculum improves learning across the curriculum, this book provides an overview of the current state of writing instruction at the secondary and college levels as it applies to teaching in the content areas. Each chapter contains practical ideas for using writing in the classroom, along with a discussion of the…

To address how and why to do research in the classroom as a teacher, this book of essays by teacher researchers prefaces each of its four sections with interviews with Cindy Myers, Ken Jones, Patricia Reed and Betty Bailey respectively. Titles and authors are as follows: "Addressing the Problem of Elsewhereness: A Case for Action Research in…

Intended to help teachers integrate writing instruction with the study of literature, this teaching guide offers a philosophy of writing instruction, describes a procedure for teaching reading and writing lessons, and provides a sequence of writing skills. For various literature selections, the guide defines vocabulary, provides topic discussion…

Both a theoretical framework and some practical suggestions are included in this book intended to help educators improve the teaching of writing to high school students who are native speakers of nonstandard English dialects. The first chapter includes a brief background on the problem of writing in American schools, with special focus on the…

A study examined the influence of prior knowledge on the quality of responses in three process-approach tasks: writing, conferencing, and revising. Subjects, 20 high-knowledge and 20 low-knowledge fourth grade students, wrote stories about a baseball game. Propositional text bases of first and second drafts were analyzed according to six…

Writing is a threefold discipline that occupies a supreme place in American education, and without which there can be no other learning. Writing is not only a body of knowledge; it is also a set of acquired habits, and a frame of mind and attitude with which a writing task is approached. Writing may be defined in three ways, as (1) a discipline;…

Before students can select words effectively for speaking, they must understand the value of word choice and the difference between written and spoken language. Once students appreciate effective word selection, they can label their own strengths and weaknesses in language and improve significantly by reading, listening, experimenting, and using a…

An observational study was conducted of a third grade teacher as she changed her classroom practices to reflect the changes in her theory of writing instruction which were prompted by a graduate course. One of the three researchers was primarily responsible for observing the class on a regular basis during the scheduled writing time. A second…

A technique for teaching writing in academic English as a second language (ESL) to students bound for college-level courses focuses on one essential reading and writing skill: using multiple sources as input for writing. The program is designed for any level and consists of a series of readings and a number of questions, the answers to which…

Recent research on writing that sheds light on writing instruction in English as a second language (ESL) focuses on contrastive rhetoric (the interference of first language rhetoric experienced by the second language learner), patterns of development in English scientific texts that cause problems for second language readers, the contrastive use…

To discover whether increased exposure to and understanding of figurative uses of language would result in improved performance on a metaphorical language comprehension test, gains were measured on a figurative language test that was administered twice, approximately four months apart, to a total of 319 elementary school children in Harlem, New…

An 18-item survey was distributed to 308 faculty members at Tennessee Technological University to elicit information about the kinds of writing students are expected to do in courses both inside and outside the English department, the relative importance of writing in various courses, and the specific expectations faculty members have concerning…

New approaches to the teaching of the classics are explored in this collection of articles written by high school, junior college, college, and university literature instructors. The seven articles in the first section of the book discuss linking the classics. Specific topics covered in the articles include using the works of William Golding as a…

Most freshman composition textbooks promote one discourse structure, usually stressing early placement of the points of an essay. This can lock rapidly changing writers into composing according to only one format. In addition, adhering to a prescribed structure rather than focusing on meaning too often causes structure--not meaning--to control the…